New in CVS:
The Gradient tool (Ctrl+F1 or the g key) is a new convenient way to create, edit, and manage gradients:
o Simply drag anywhere on canvas to create a gradient on selected objects. Existing gradients can be edited by dragging their handles (as in any tool that has on-canvas gradient editing enabled).
o The tool's controls bar lets you choose the type of the newly created gradients (linear or radial) and whether they will be applied to the objects' fill or stroke.
o For the gradient(s) of selected object(s), you can choose one of the gradient definitions in the document from the drop-down list in the controls bar. The Fork button creates a copy of the selected gradient definition and applies it to the selected objects, which is useful when you have several objects sharing one gradient definition but want to change that. The Edit... button opens the gradient dialog where you can edit the gradient definition (add/move/delete stops and change colors and opacities of stops).
o The selected (blue) on-canvas gradient handle can be moved by arrow keys with all the regular modifiers (Alt ro move by 1 screen pixel, Shift to move by 10 times the distance). The Tab and Shift+Tab keys let you move selection from one handle to the next or previous.
This functionality is largely equivalent to that of the Fill&Stroke dialog, but is much more convenient. Still TODO:
- toggle buttons for spread (none/reflect/repeat)
- button/dialog to rename selected gradient definition
- X/Y spinbuttons for the position of the selected handle
- the ability to assign color to the selected handle, so it's possible to edit at least two-stop gradients without opening the gradient editor
- additional draggable handles for multi-stop gradients
Also today I eliminated the old gradient position widget in Fill&Stroke as redundant. I'm thinking about removing the remaining gradient controls there too ("vector" list, Add/Edit, spread) because they are a duplication of what is available in the gradient tool, and have no added advantages in the dialog.
All these changes were rather disruptive, so please test everything thoroughly. Of course any feedback on the usability, terminology (e.g. I had to invent the term "gradient definition" for that color strip with stops that can be applied to objects' gradients; Sodipodi termed them "vectors" which is incredibly misleading), or anything else is welcome.